South Siders Asked To Fight Decay * Bethlehem Police And A Task Force Will Recruit Help At Three Sites, Tonight Through Thursday.

July 23, 1996|by TRACY JORDAN, The Morning Call

It's time for residents on Bethlehem's South Side to stop complaining and take action.

The South Side Task Force and police officers assigned to community substations there want to recruit more people to unite against undesirable activity and arm them with information about city services.

About 1,000 flyers have been distributed advertising "Bethlehem Against Neighborhood Decay" meetings to be held between 5 and 9 p.m. at Madison Playground today, Yosko Park tomorrow and Donegan School Thursday.

"I thought those are the areas where we'd have the greatest impact and areas that I thought needed attention," Police Sgt. Joseph Keglovits said. "We could have started at very, very easy places. These are high population areas where there's activity."

Underage drinking, drug dealing and vandalism in the parks and other problems could be reduced if more people were involved, he said.

"I want the neighborhoods to start being used by positive influences," Keglovits said. "If good folks are there it drives out the bad, and there's a lot of good folks on the South Side."

"We have meetings and I see the same old faces, and I want to see new faces," Keglovits said. "So we're recruiting new faces and answering questions about how they can improve their neighborhood."

Community police officers, task force members, members of ALERT Partnership For a Drug-Free Valley, Block Watch participants, elected officials and city employees from the housing, recycling and health offices will answer questions and distribute information at the parks.

"These are places where people in the neighborhood go. We wanted to be in places where people would see us and talk to us," task force Chairwoman Anne Evans said. "It's just an opportunity for people to meet their neighbors and find out if they're interested in doing anything."

Evans said residents often complain to police about high grass at a nearby property, building code violations or recycling containers left out all week, but police don't handle those issues.

"People may want to complain and they don't want to go to the neighbor, but they don't know who to call," Evans said. "If these people come out, we can say that's really a health bureau problem or we can give them the recycling schedule."

Keglovits expects the meetings may end up like the childhood game of "Red Rover, Red Rover," with many residents timid about crossing the street to enter the parks they rarely use.

"We have to show them you are a neighborhood and you have a stake in the safety of your neighborhood," Keglovits said. "We're bringing the store to their door. We expect people to come out and we want families to come out."